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After this year’s disappointing Super Bowl performance, the annual football drought hit NFL fans harder than ever. But just as the NFL’s absence was felt, a new professional football league, the Alliance of American Football or AAF, debuted this past Saturday, February 9th. The league right now contains eight teams all with players mostly from around the region where the team is based, and a lot of the players are former NFL athletes. Unlike the unsuccessful XFL football league that produced hard-hitting blows, unrestricted play style, and suggestive themes, the AAF will attempt to become more of a farm league to the NFL, similar to the NBA’s G League. After watching the opening two weekends of the AAF, I believe there are a lot of ideas the NFL can take from it and aspects of the game that I already enjoy more.

After one weekend of AAF football, I have already seen a lot incorporated in the game that I enjoy: the hard hits, mic’d up players and coaches, and new camera angles. Over the past couple of years, the NFL has been attempting to protect its players more by creating stricter rules that result in more penalties, and in turn, some fans have become upset with that aspect of the game. So far, the AAF has valued player safety but also let the players hit hard producing an exciting product. With the new camera angles and extra audio we get to hear from players and coaches, fans are given a chance to be more immersed in the game of football than ever. One other aspect of the AAF that I enjoy is how teams’ rosters are mainly filled with local players and former NFL players which draw a greater and more meaningful audience.

Overall, the AAF has showed fans its potential to become a permanent league with a solid first two weeks of play. I believe that the AAF will turn into a farm league for the NFL focusing on creating NFL-ready athletes. To learn more about the AAF click here, and catch the games on Saturdays and Sundays on CBS, CBS Sports Network, NFL Network, or TNT.